North Downs

Line of chalk hills in southeast England, extending from Salisbury Plain across Hampshire, Surrey, and Kent. They face the South Downs across the Weald of Kent and Sussex and are much used for sheep pasture.

The downs run from Andover (on the edge of Salisbury Plain) in the west to the cliffs of South Foreland in the east. The North Downs Way is a long-distance footpath (length 227 km/141 mi) which runs along the crest of the North Downs, coinciding in places with the Pilgrims' Way (an ancient track running from Winchester to Canterbury). The Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs are both designated areas of outstanding natural beauty, and at Wye and Crundale Downs there is a national nature reserve. The rivers Stour, Medway, Darent, Mole, and Wey cut through the chalk creating natural routes and important centres, as at Guildford, Reigate, Maidstone, Ashford, and Canterbury.